Captive of Fate
by Phoenix17
Summary: Years later, Suzaku Summons a new miko, but he seems to have messed up... Poor Masahiro, all he wanted to do was write a paper on ancient China, not visit it.
1. Homework can be bad for your health

Title: Captive of Fate  
  
Author: Lady Phoenix  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Fushigi Yuugi, and I never will. Please don't sue; you wouldn't get anything, I'm just a poor CEGEP student.  
  
Forward:  
  
This idea just popped into my head the other day, and I haven't been able to get it out, so I figured I'd write it down. I know that it's probably been done before, but I haven't read any fanfics with this plot, so if it resembles anything you've read or written, it's an accident. Enjoy and review!  
  
Chapter: Homework can be bad for your health…  
  
A tall young man released a heavy sight as he exited the building. It was the middle of winter, and so night came early; already at 5:30 PM he was able to see the silver moon hanging in the sky. Balancing his heavy book bag onto his shoulders, the young man placed his hands in his coat pockets to keep them warm and began a brisk walk through the downtown core of the city toward the library. Leaving late was a price he was willing to pay to start late and have some extra hours of sleep.  
  
As he walked up the steps to the library a guard stopped him, "The library will be closing soon, young man." Checking his watch, Masahiro noticed that the library would indeed be closing in less than fifteen minutes.  
  
With a tired smile, Masahiro reassured the guard. "I'll only take a few minutes." With that the guard shrugged and let him be. He quickly made his way up the stairs to the section of the library dedicated to other cultures. When he found the part devoted to ancient China, Masahiro nearly had a heart attack. There were rows upon rows of books discussing the topic. "I don't have time to go through them all, might as well just take as many as I can carry." He muttered to himself while cursing his ancient civ. teacher for giving them an extra project to work on right before midterms. Grabbing as many books as he could, Masahiro made his way precariously to the check out counter.  
  
Masahiro made his way out the library with only one book in his hand seeing as how it was the only one he couldn't stuff into his backpack. He nodded in the guard's direction as he began to speed walk home hoping he wouldn't freeze to death before he reached his destination. His apartment was in the less desirable part of the city, but that was understandable seeing as how he was a full time student living on his own. Masahiro was now a second year student in anthropology at the University of Tokyo; he had come to Tokyo to study two years ago, and the city was starting to grow on him.  
  
Arriving at his apartment complex, Masahiro started to dig out the keys to his apartment as he walked up the stairs to the third floor on which he lived. As he closed the door to his apartment, Masahiro dropped his bag on the floor along with the book he had been carrying, shrugged his trench coat off and kicked off his boots. Making his way through his cramped one room apartment to his even more cramped kitchen, Masahiro side stepped with the ease of habit everything on his messy floor that served as proof that he was indeed a university student living on his own.  
  
"Looks like it's instant ramen again tonight." Masahiro mumbled to himself while looking for something remotely edible in his kitchen, but finding nothing. Pouring water into a cup of ramen noodles and putting it into the microwave, Masahiro proceeded to pour himself a cup of coffee. Grabbing his supper when it was finished, Masahiro put it down on a square table that came up to his knees; he then went back to pick up the book he had been carrying. Sitting down in front of his food on his spread out futon, he began to eat. "Legend of the Four Gods, hmm? Seems like a good place to start, like that I can cover both religion and legends in one shot…" Masahiro placed the book on the table and continued to read though it.  
  
"This is the story of a young girl who single handedly gathered the seven stars of Suzaku and gained the power to make all her dreams come true. The story itself is an incantation and whoever reads it gains the main character's power to have their wishes granted. This is because once they turn the first page the story will become real and begin."  
  
"Cute." Commented Masahiro as he slurped his ramen. As he turned the page of the book to continue reading, a bright red light overcame him. He felt like his entire being was on fire, and promptly passed out due to pain as well as shock. When the bright light disappeared, the only thing that remained where Masahiro once sat was a single red feather.  
  
  
  
  
  
"I'm sorry but you are mistaken: I am far more beautiful than you."  
  
"No, brother dearest, I am more pleasing to the eyes than you shall ever be." Seethed a voice. Two young men in intricate silk robes were arguing. A daily ritual, all those surrounding them had learned to ignore them and continue with their daily routines.  
  
THUD came a noise to their side. Both brothers blink a few times before turning to see what and whom had dared to try to out stage them. Lying in the courtyard they found a strangely dressed young man. Though he was unconscious, he was still groaning in pain. With a few more blinks of their eyes, the brothers looked up to the sky where this young man seemed to come from, and then back to the young man. With another look to the sky they shrugged their shoulders. The set of twins that would one day rule the empire went back to arguing about which one of them was the most beautiful.  
  
  
  
  
  
Short, true, but I always write short chapters. Should I continue? Tell me what you think! 


	2. The Choosing of a Miko...er...Monk

Title: Captive of Fate  
  
Author: Lady Phoenix  
  
Chapter Two: The Choosing of a Miko… err… Monk  
  
Author's Note  
  
Here's the second chapter of the story… I have no clue where I'm headed with this story, seeing as how I wrote the first chapter as a joke, so suggestions are welcome. In fact, they're more then welcome… The text formatting didn't show up in chapter one, hopefully it'll show up in this one… And yes I gave the seishi Japanese names; I was too lazy to try to figure out the Chinese equivalent… Also, a warning, I never got around to finishing the series, so a lot of it may be inaccurate. I also changed the rating for one swear word, don't want to take any chances. Anyway, enjoy!  
  
Chapter Two: The Choosing of a Miko… err… Monk  
  
The figure on the large double bed groaned in pain. His normally pale skin seemed even paler, especially when contrasted against his jet- black hair which short spiky tips were dyed red. Two strands of dyed red hair framed his face ending at his normally red lips. Suddenly his onyx eyes shot open, framed by his long eyelashes.  
  
The first thing Masahiro saw was a figure; or rather two identical figures side-by-side. Two pairs of sky blue eyes widened in surprise. The faces were framed by shoulder-length, wavy, dirty blond hair. 'Seeing double…that can't be a good sign.' The second thing he noticed was their clothes; long red and white robes with trimmings of gold adorned the bodies looking down at him. 'Okay…someone's been studying way to much…Must've fallen asleep while studying…how sad is this? I'm dreaming about my homework…'  
  
"Good, you're finally awake. How are you feeling?" Asked the one on the right with a silky smooth voice.  
  
"That's funny…the other one's mouth didn't move…" Muttered Masahiro to himself, his voice sounding hoarse even to himself.  
  
Both of the figures blinked in time, then smiled as understanding dawned. "Oh, trust me, you're not seeing double: we're twins." Said the one on the left with a bright smile, and an equally smooth voice as his twin had used previously.  
  
"Twins?" echoed the young man in the bed tiredly, "that's nice… Where am I?"  
  
"You're in the royal palace of Konan!" Supplied one of the twins, Masahiro didn't know which one seeing as how he was rapidly rejoining the land of the unconscious. His last thoughts before he blacked out were along the lines of 'I'm even imagining countries…'  
  
"He passed out." Stated the figure on the right.  
  
"That he did." Replied the one on the left.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
As Masahiro came to for the second time that day, his onyx eyes only came in contact with one pair of cerulean eyes, much to his relief. 'Maybe I hit my head hard enough that it warped my perception of reality…' "Where am I?" Masahiro asked for the second time that day.  
  
"In a guest room in the palace." Replied the figure that stood before him with a cheerful smile. Masahiro took a look around him and noticed his lavish surroundings. He was in a large bed in the corner of the room, a vanity was set up against a wall, a changing screen in another corner, and a knee high table was in the center of the room. On the wall opposite of him was a sliding door. "You'll have to excuse my brother's absence; he is discussing your presence with the council."  
  
"Discussing my presence?" Inquired Masahiro, not quite liking the implications of that statement.  
  
The azure-eyed youth before him chuckled, "It's not everyday that someone falls from the sky into the middle of the courtyard, you know."  
  
"Falls out of the sky? Into the courtyard? Where exactly am I?" Masahiro asked, more and more confused.  
  
With an irritated sight, the figure answered, "I thought we already covered this, twice in fact. You're in a guest room in the palace. The royal palace of Konan."  
  
"Konan? Where the fuck is that? I've never heard of anywhere called Konan! Is this some kind of sick joke?" Masahiro was furious, to say the least. He has never heard of Konan, he didn't know what was going on, so for him, anger was the most natural response to the situation.  
  
"Everything will be explained in due time, so please calm yourself. And don't raise your voice in front of me; I am the future emperor. Didn't they teach you manners in your world? Honestly… And what's your name?"  
  
Masahiro chose to ignore the "your world" comment and go along with whatever he said, too tired to argue. And besides, his mother had always told him to humor the insane. "My name is Masahiro."  
  
At that, the reflection of the young man standing before him entered the room. "Ah, good, you're already awake," he said, "That means we can get down to business right away."  
  
"Allow me to introduce my twin brother Ichiro," said the figure who had already been in the room, "And I am Kenji. We are the future emperors of Konan."  
  
Ichiro came to stand beside his twin, "Of course you don't know what or where Konan is, do you?" At this Masahiro could only shake his head. "Well, bare with us because this may get a bit confusing."  
  
Kenji continued for his brother, "Our land has a legend; that when the country is in a dire situation, a young girl from another world would come to assume the role of the Suzaku no Miko and save our world."  
  
"The Suzaku no Miko has to gather seven celestial warriors to be granted three wishes from our god Suzaku when he is summoned with the aid of the seven celestial warriors. The celestial warriors, or seishi, each represent a constellation of the Southern part of the sky. Their duty is to protect the Miko." Supplied Ichiro.  
  
"Our land is on the brink of war with the empire under Byako's protection, which would be the dire situation, and you, Masahiro, judging by your clothes, your arrival and your reaction upon your awakening, are from another world." Said the other.  
  
"And that is why we would like you to accept to be our Miko!" The two identical figures said at the same time.  
  
"Are there any questions you'd like answered before you accept?" Asked Ichiro.  
  
Masahiro sat there dumbstruck for a few moments. He wondered whether he should burst out laughing or just role over and go back to sleep. Unfortunately he had already decided to go along with whatever he was told, so he asked the first thing that came to mind. "Don't you need a girl to be the Miko? In case you haven't noticed, I'm a guy."  
  
The twins thought for a few moments before Ichiro responded, "Those are just details, after all, one can hardly expect a legend as old as this one to be accurate."  
  
"But Mikos are women." Countered Masahiro.  
  
"Then you'll be the Suzaku no Monku." Countered Kenji just as quickly.  
  
Masahiro tried finding another loophole that would allow him to escape being the Miko without feeling guilty. "Don't beast god summonings normally entail a virgin sacrifice?"  
  
"The legend doesn't mention this, in fact the last Miko returned to her world once everything was done." Replied Kenji.  
  
"The last Miko? You mean this has been done before?" Asked Masahiro genuinely intrigued.  
  
"Yes, in fact we are the great grandsons of one of her seishi whose constellation was Hotohori." Supplied Ichiro quite proudly. "We ourselves are seichi as well."  
  
"Both of you? So there are only five seishi to search for? Shouldn't be too hard." Mused Masahiro.  
  
At this Kenji stepped in to specify that it would be an arduous task seeing as how the other five could be anywhere in the vast empire of Konan, and that is would probably take several months to find them. "Won't your family be worried about you?"  
  
"My family? Nah… I live alone in Tokyo; my family won't know that I'm missing… The only one who might notice is Hiroshi…"  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
A young man with shoulder length black hair bleached an orangey color was knocking on a door outside of an apartment building. After receiving no answer he tried the doorknob only to find it unlocked, so he entered the messy apartment. Not seeing his friend, Hiroshi just shrugged and sat down at the table. Noticing the open book, he picked up and began to read while waiting for Masahiro to return for their cram session.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Masahiro had asked for time to consider the possibility of being the Suzaku no Monku, and the twins had agreed whole-heartedly that he should think it over. Still feeling extremely exhausted, Masahiro decided to sleep on it. Unfortunately for him, he would not get a full night sleep, for in the middle of the night he was awoken by some noise in his room.  
  
He saw a dark figure moving around in his room, and immediately lunged at it. The figure had a small build but fought ferociously nonetheless, causing Masahiro to call out for help. As they rustled on the floor, Masahiro got the advantage and pinned his opponent on the ground. He took off the black cloth that covered the face beneath him, and when the guards arrived with lanterns he let a surprised gasp escape his lips. Emerald green eyes glared at him from a pale face. "You're a girl!"  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Woohoo! Chapter two is finished., I was pretty tired near the end, as you can probably tell. Please review everyone!!  
  
In case you're interested these are the meanings of their names:  
  
Masahiro – straightforward and wise  
  
Ichiro – a name given to the first-born  
  
Kenji – a name given to the second born  
  
Hiroshi - generous 


	3. Feminist Shi Seishi Will Give You An Ulc...

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Title: Captive of Fate

Author: Phoenix

Chapter Three: Feminist Shi Seishi Will Give You an Ulcer…

Author's Note  
Sorry it took so long, but as I mentioned before, I have no clue where I'm going with this story. I have a few sketchy ideas that I came up with, but no real direction, so if anyone has any ideas or requests, please let me know. ^_^. On with the chapter.

Feminist Shi Seishi Will Give You an Ulcer…

"You're a girl!" Yelled Masahiro as the guards ran into the room shining light onto the two figures on the floor.

The female individual beneath the Suzaku no Monku threw him off of herself and into the wall, leaving him slightly disorientated. As the guards rushed towards her, she managed to evade them in a fury of kicks, punches and ducking. She succeeded in escaping through the window she had entered through with several guards hot on her pursuit.

The victim of her attack watched as her get away transpired, murmuring to himself a single word, "Red."

"Well now," started one of the princes, Masahiro didn't know, nor did he care which one spoke, "things certainly seem to liven up with you here, Masahiro."

Masahiro just groaned.

  


The next morning, Masahiro and the princes were gathered together for a small breakfast. Small meaning there were roughly a hundred different dishes to choose from. Masahiro reckoned that this would be the best moment to satisfy some of his curiosity.

"So, how can you tell that someone is a celestial warrior?" the Suzaku no Monku asked in an almost shy voice.

Ichiro, the eldest of the set of twins, answered him. "Well, a shi seishi has a symbol on them that's there from their birth. Depending on which star of the constellation they represent, the placement of the symbol on their body varies. Forehead, neck, chest, hand… Seven different positions for seven different stars."

"So where are your symbols?"

This time it was Kenji's turn to answer. "Ichiro's is on his forehead and mine is on my neck."

"So how come I can't see them?"

"They only appear when our powers are being used, when they do appear, they shine with a light which color varies depending on which beast god the shi seishi serves. In our case it shines red."

"Powers?" Asked Masahiro wanting more details.

"We're not too sure about those yet. The details in the legends are very sketchy about them at best. All we know is that Suzaku has bestowed upon us certain privileges to protect our Miko." Replied Ichiro looking almost ashamed for his lack of knowledge.

Satisfied that he had learned all he needed to know at the moment, Masahiro excused himself from the meal to go think in his room.

* * *

Masahiro needed time to think, and if the events of the previous night were any indication, he wouldn't be able to think in the palace. He therefore had to somehow had to escape the palace. The monk managed to find some casual clothes to change into seeing as how his own clothes would more than likely make him stand out in a crowd. Evading the guards had been a bit harder than he had anticipated, but Masahiro had succeeded in leaving the palace unnoticed.

The peace and quiet that reigned within the palace walls instantly disappeared when he left the confines of the castle; as if he were entering a whole new world. The streets of the city were bustling with life as merchants and peasants interacted as they did every day. A few guards were doing their rounds, making sure that nothing was amiss in the city, though who decided when something was amiss was unknown to Masahiro.

The young man walked around the city, observing everyone and everything. Masahiro had rarely, if ever, seen Tokyo so animated. He was torn away from his musings as a familiar head of green hair entered his peripheral view. Upon closer inspection, Masahiro realized that the hair belonged to his attacker from the prior night.

Masahiro decided that he would discreetly follow the mysterious woman as she made her way through the market. In the daylight he was able to observe her better. She was younger than him, possibly by a few years. Despite her small build, she could easily pass as a young boy; her messily spiked green hair and choice of wardrobe definitely did not hinder the illusion. Her clothes consisted of dark brown sandals, black slacks and a light brown sleeveless shirt, which complimented her green hair and still managed to bring out her pale complexion.

Masahiro followed the intriguing woman to an old and weather worn house on the outskirts of town that she entered. He debated with himself the next following moments on what his course of action should be. Having decided that he hadn't followed her all the way here only to turn into a coward and chicken out of confronting her.

Taking a deep breath to steel himself for whatever may come, Masahiro walked up to the door and knocked twice. As the object of his pursuit opened the door, a look of shock quickly flitted over her features only to be replaced by a look of fury.

"What do you want?" She asked, looking as if she would slam the door in his face at any moment.

"Please," Masahiro pleaded, "I just want to talk. Nothing more, I promise." As the figure before him continued to glare, Masahiro tried to convince her that he did not pose a threat to her. "Please, I promise I won't tell anyone where you are, I simply want to know a few things about last night's events that you may be able to clear up."

The Suzaku no Monku honestly believed that the young woman would refuse him, and was pleasantly surprised when she reluctantly opened her door to let him enter her home. "Try anything and you'll regret it."

Masahiro simply nodded as he followed her into the old structure. He did not fail to notice the several small figures trying to peek into the room through a back window without being noticed, but decided it would be best if he didn't comment. They sat down on opposite sides of a rickety table, the only visible furniture within the one room house.

"So? What do you want to know?"

"Well, for starters, what's your name?" Seeing her frown, Masahiro tried to put her at ease. "Mine's Masahiro. I've always believed it's best to know the name of the person you're conversing with."

"Her frown didn't lighten, but she answered none the less. "My name is Midori." No unnecessary words.

"What were you doing in the palace last night?"

"I was going to steal something." Midori was not ashamed of her actions, and her tone of voice practically dared him to try to make her feel humiliation.

"Why were you trying to rob the palace?" Masahiro's question held a certain amount of childish curiosity mixed in with his naïveté.

"The same reason everyone else in this city steals," she practically snorted, "to survive."

"For your brothers and sisters?" Masahiro asked motioning towards the window with his head.

Midori's frown deepened and she simply ground out a "Yes."

Taking the hint, Masahiro decided to leave her family out of the conversation. "Have you ever heard of the legend of the Suzaku no Miko?"

"What?" Masahiro cheered inwardly for having caught her off guard. "What does that have to do with anything? Of course I've heard of the legend, everyone in Konan has."

"This may be a bit blunt, but are you a shi seishi?" Masahiro asked hoping that he hadn't blown everything.

"What? How did you know?" Was all Midori could manage to say due to her extreme shock. She hadn't seen this coming.

"Well, I saw a red light glowing from under your shirt when you threw me into the wall and fought with the guards to get away. So am I right?"

"I suppose there is no use in denying it then. Yes, I am a shi seishi. I represent the constellation of Nuriko, the willow.

"So your job is to protect the miko, right?"

"Yes, everyone knows that it is the shi seishi's job to protect the miko."

"Um, yeah, of course everyone knows. What if I were to say that you went against your sacred duty last night?"

"How so?"

"Well… I'm the Suzaku no miko, or rather the Suzaku no monku." Masahiro said while trying to hide his embarrassed blush.

"Impossible. The miko is just that, a priestess, a female priestess." Midori ground out. 

"Apparently the legend isn't a hundred percent truthful on some points." The monk sheepishly replied.

"I will not. I refuse."

"Refuse what?" Masahiro asked, fearing the worst.

"I refuse to have anything to do with this mockery of a sacred legend. The Shi seishi are to protect a female, not some… man!" Midori practically spit out the last word.

"So you'll protect a miko, but not a monku?" Masahiro asked incredulously.

"Of course! Men are all pigs." Midori's voice started to rise as her anger grew.

"What? How can you say that? You can't generalize like that! I'm not a pig!" Masahiro was in turn starting to get quite upset.

"Yes you are! You are a man and are therefore a pig!"

"No I'm not!" Masahiro practically shrieked. "If men are such pigs, then why do you go around dressed as one?" He asked, taunting her.

"Because this is a male dominated society which believes that women should stay at home all day caring for the children and therefore, for me to do anything in this world, I must pretend to be a pig as well." Midori explained.

"Well you're failing at being a pig, but you're damn well succeeding at being a bitch." Masahiro took a calming breath while Midori stood watching him mouth agape; unable to believe he had said such a thing. "Are you saying that you refuse to perform your duty and protect the Suzaku no monku?"

"Of course." Midori snapped.

"What would it take to convince you to change your mind?" He asked tiredly.

"Nothing can change my mind. I will not back down on something I believe in."

Masahiro was ready to give up until he remembered how protective of her family she had seemed earlier. "What if I can convince the princes to place your family under their care and make sure they will never have to wish for anything more?"

Midori was perplexed. By refusing to accept, she would be standing by her principles; however, if she accepted, Midori would be doing the best thing she could possibly do for her family. "If you can bring me the prince and have him give me his word about securing my family's future, I will accept." She accepted morosely.

"Of course, if you'll just come back to the palace with me—"

"No!" Midori cut him off abruptly. "I said you must bring them here. I will not go to the palace again unless I am certain that I will not be arrested. Midori cut him off abruptly."

"Alright, I suppose that makes sense." Masahiro conceded; he hadn't thought of the possibility of her being arrested. "I'll go to the palace and try to bring someone back with me alright?"

A long pause. "Yes." One word was uttered, and Midori had sealed her fate.

* * *

It had taken Masahiro nearly two hours to explain everything to the princes and to finally acquire their approval. They weren't pleased with him for sneaking out of the palace, after all, the city is a dangerous place, but they had forgotten all about it when Masahiro had mentioned that he had found another Shi seishi.

They had finally decided that Ichiro would accompany Masahiro to Midori's home. After a change of clothes when Masahiro had at last convinced Ichiro that it was best to be as inconspicuous as possible, the two departed.

They ventured across the city without wasting a moment. When Masahiro and Ichiro arrived at their destination, they found a young girl with a long green hair tied up in pig tails crying her heart out.

"Hey there, what's wrong? Where's Midori?" Asked Masahiro as he crouched down to be at eye level with the child. The young prince held back, unsure of how to react around children.

"They took her away!!" She shrieked between sobs.

"Who took her away?" Ichiro asked, now becoming very worried and forgetting that he didn't know how to react around infants.

"The guards!! They took her away for today's public execution!! They took my Mommy away!!"

"Oh shit." Was all that Masahiro could mutter.

* * *

So what did you think? Any ideas on how I should develop it further? I know I kind of lessened the quality around the major dialogue part of the chapter, but I'm really tired… Does anyone have any information about the shi seishi and their constellations? IE they're symbols, constellations… Or anything about the Byako Shi seishi?

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed, please review (unless you want to wait another five months for a new chapter that is).


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